TOKYO -- The average tax burden ratio for top American IT companies, collectively known as the "Big Four"-- Google, Apple, Facebook and Amazon -- is about 15%, or around 60% of the average among more than 50,000 large companies worldwide, a recent Nikkei analysis finds.
The existing corporate income tax system is ill adapted to a digitized economy, as it cannot fully account for intangible assets. Competitive tax cutting among nations has come to a head, due in part to the fiscal expansion undertaken to deal with the coronavirus pandemic. Policymakers around the world now see an increasing need for global tax rules.
